To be a contender, a garden must have art that tells me something about the owner, must have more garden than lawn, and must not be a barkscape; the plants must touch and intermingle. (Sue, Tangly Garden)

Liriope muscari 'variegata'

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony. William Henry Channing 1810-1884

White Nancy Lamium (deadnettle)

Tanacetum parthenium ( Feverfew)

Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’

Kind hearts are the garden; Kind thoughts are the roots; Kind words are the blossoms; Kind deeds are the fruits.

“After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear - what remains? Nature remains.” Walt Whitman

"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy." William Blake

The Shed..."In the potting shed, our hearts, the pleasures of home, and the glories of the garden merge. Its practical character eases our garden labors. Its romantic nature enriches our lives. Here is peace, and beauty, and a sense of purpose." Linda Joan Smith --The Potting Shed

Taking advantage of sunny weather to attach Christmas lights to "The Shed", 2009

Erin, September 2009

"A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influenceon many constitutions as the most recent blessings or misfortune."

Joseph Addison

"You must have a place to which you can go in your heart, your mind, or your house, almost everyday, where you do not owe anyone and where no one owes you--a place that simply allows for the blossoming of something new and promising." - Joseph Campbell

The Cabin

7/19/09 Soon to be placed in a flowerbed...

If there is anyone who is not enlightened by the sublime magnificence of created things, he is blind. If there is anyone who, seeing all these works of God, does not praise Him, he is dumb. If there is anyone who, from so many signs, cannot perceive God, that man is foolish. (Saint Bonaventure)

July 6, 2009

The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust, novelist (1871-1922)

Solitude

Grant me the ability to be alone. May it be my custom to go outdoors each day among the trees and grasses, among all growing things...and there may I be alone and enter into prayer to talk with the One that I belong to.- Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav

July 6, 2009

"Laying out grounds may be considered a liberal art, in some sort like poetry and painting."-- William Wordsworth

The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily

do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm.

If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose,

spring would lose its loveliness.

~Therese of Lisieux

June 2009, Grandpa & John

White coral bells upon a slender stalk.Lilies of the valley deck my garden walk.Oh, don't you wish that you could hear them ring?That will happen only when the fairies sing.

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. John Burroughs

Events in our Yard

Burrill family - cookout, cornhole, s'mores, etc. 7/18/11

Burrill family here, cookout 6/17/09

Home Connection Memorial Day Cookout 5/24/09

Harlan Days Parade, Open Porch, 8/1/09, 8/10

"I never say to people 'would you like to look at the garden?' because any lover of gardens, even if he sees only a lawn and a solitary herbaceous border, will ask to see it himself." Beverley Nichols

"I love this time of the year when plants come to bloom, and every bloom is like a pat on a gardener's shoulder."seen in My Secret Garden

Ross, June 2009

Perennials--The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap.

The year's at the spring

And the day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

The hill-side's dew-pearled;

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn:

God's in his heaven-

All's right with the world!

~Robert Browning

"The world's favorite season is the spring.All things seem possible in May."- Edwin Way Teale

I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden. ~John Erskine

"The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we inhabit are not only critical elements in the quality of life we enjoy - they are a reflection of the majesty of our Creator." Rick Perry

Day is done.Gone the sun From the lakesFrom the hillsFrom the sky.All is well,safely rest.God is nigh.

Fading lightDims the sight; And a starGems the sky, Gleaning brightFrom afar,Drawing nigh...Falls the night.

Thanks and praise, For our days Neath the sun,Neath the stars,Neath the sky.As we go, This we know, God is nigh.

"Successful gardening is not necessarily a question of wealth. It is a question of love, taste and knowledge." -Vita Sackville-West.

Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer. ~Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

Edith Schaeffer writes: "One of the greatest destructions in the whole field of ecology is the dehumanizing of man as he lives with machines, instead of with living, growing, responding plant and animal life."

"Whoever you are and wherever you live, take at least one small step now against the waves of plastic, and do something positive in the area of landscape architecture right now..."

Irises come in many forms, shapes, colors and sizes and the sword-like foliage is attractive when the plant is not in bloom. The genus Iris is a large genus of bulbous and rhizomatous perennials.

The Iris was named after the goddess of the rainbow because of its many colors.

A flower on the Sphinx is considered to be an Iris, and another appears on a bas-relief of the 18th Egyptian dynasty.

Pliny also knew the Iris and praised its medicinal virtues.

The Iris was also a favourite flower of the Moslems, who took it to Spain after their conquest in the 8th century.

Beautiful Sunset, May 24, 2009

'Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground!'

"A GARDEN IS A PAINTING THATTAKES A LIFETIME TO FINISH!"~Bob Schatan

May 2009, Home Connection

"When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, There is always the garden."-- Minnie Aumonier

'The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising and never satisfied.They always look forward to doing something better than they have done before' ~ Vita Sackville West

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads ~ Henry David Thoreau

All the great things are simple ~ Sir Winston Churchill

Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life ~ Marcus Aurelins

RAIN BARRELS

Overhead in an Orchard... Said the robin to the sparrow, "I should really like to know... Why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so?!" Said the sparrow to the robin, "Friend, I think it must be, that they have no Heavenly Father, such as cares for you and me!" Elizabeth Cheney

Nature is what we knowBut have no art to say, So impotent our wisdom is to Her simplicity. (Emily Dickinson)

Bought at a local plant sale, Spring of 2009 Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium; syn.Chrysanthemum parthenium (L.) Pers., Pyrethrum partheniumSm.) is a traditional medicinal herb which is found in many old gardens, and is also occasionally grown for ornament. The plant grows into a small bush up to around 18 inches high, with citrus-scented leaves and is covered by flowers reminiscent of daisies. It spreads rapidly, and they will cover a wide area after a few years. It is also commonly seen in the literature by its synonyms, Chrysanthemum parthenium (L.) Bernh. and Pyrethrum parthenium (L.) Sm.

May 23, 2009 WAITING FOR RAINFALL

I'D PICK MORE DAISIESIf I could live my life again I'd be a little lazy I'd stop this rushing to and fro And stop and pick more daisiesThrough all the lovely summer months Though days be clear or hazy No more to fret over tasks undone, I'd stop to pick a daisyNot so important what I did This fact time now discloses While running through life's garden green I'd stop to smell the rosesIf I could hold my little ones The children in my care I'd scold them less and love them more With so much love to shareIf I could pass this way again Though folks might think I'm crazy I'd work and worry less, but I'd Take time to pick a daisyThe rush of life has passed me by Now I have leisure hours But time has taken such a toll It's too late to pick the flowers.

Mildred F. Rowe

MEASURE YOUR HEALTH...by your sympathy with morning and spring. If there is no response in you to the awakening of nature, if the prospect of an early morning walk does not banish sleep, if the warble of the first bluebird does not thrill you--know that the morning and the spring of your life are past. Thus may you feel your pulse. (Thoreau)

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on the trees and flowers and clouds and stars." (Martin Luther)

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, agarden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

HOW GREAT THOU ARTO Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,How great Thou art, How great Thou art.Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,How great Thou art, How great Thou art!Words and music by Carl G. Boberg and R.J. Hughes

~"Daffodils that come before the Swallow dares,

And takes the winds of March

With beauty."

~William Shakespeare

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719)

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads ~ Henry David Thoreau

Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life ~ Marcus Aurelins

"When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden." -M. Aumonier

Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. ~Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897

"I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden."

Ruth Stout

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them ~ A.A.Milne, Eeyore from Winnie The Poo.

Genesis 2:8-10 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he and formed. And the Lord God made all knids of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden...

The soul of a child is the loveliest flowerThat grows in the garden of GodIt's climb is from weakness to knowledge and power,To the sky from the clay to the clod.To beauty and sweetness it grows under careNeglected, 'tis ragged and wild.'Tis a plant that is tender, but wondrously rare,The sweet wistfull soul of a child.

Be tender, O Gardener, and give it it's shareOf moisture, of warmth and of light,And let it not lack for th painstaking careTo protect it from frost and from blight.A glad day will come when it's bloom shall unfold,It will seem that an angel has smiled,Reflecting a beauty and sweetness untoldIn the sensitive soul of a child.

...Author Unknown

Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

'The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising and never satisfied.They always look forward to doing something better than they have done before' ~ Vita Sackville West

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." Confucius

Gardening Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weedand not a valuable plant is to pull on it.If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.

For everything there is a season, A time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance...Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

Thy Word is like a garden, Lord,With flowers bright and fair;And every one who seeks may pluckA lovely cluster there. Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine,And jewels rich and rareAre hidden in its mighty depthsFor every searcher there.

Thy Word is like a starry host: A thousand rays of lightAre seen to guard the traveler,And make his pathway bright.Thy Word is like an armory,Where soldiers may repair,And find, for life's long battle-day,All needful weapons there.

Oh, may I love Thy precious Word,May I explore the mine,May I its fragrant flowers glen,May light upon me shine!Oh, may I find my armor there!Thy Word my trusty sword,I'll learn to fight with every foeThe battle of the Lord.

(Edwin Hodder, Thy Word Is Like a Garden, Lord)

Gardens... should be like lovely, well-shaped girls: all curves, secret corners, unexpected deviations, seductive surprises and then still more curves. ~H.E. Bates, A Love of Flowers

I think the true gardener is a lover of his flowers, not a critic of them. I think the true gardener is the reverent servant of Nature, not her truculent, wife-beating master. I think the true gardener, the older he grows, should more and more develop a humble, grateful and uncertain spirit. ~Reginald Farrer, In a Yorkshire Garden, 1909

No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden. ~Hugh Johnson

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. -Anne Bradstreet

I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border. I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error. ~Sara Stein, My Weeds, 1988